She says winds gusted to 80 km/h that night and acted like a fan on the fire, increasing the smoke in the area and making it difficult for fire crews, who were dispatched Friday night, to get to the fire at the home. Curtis says they were "grounded overnight" and only got there early Saturday morning.

Libby Catling, who lives in Fort Reliance near the home that went up in flames, says she and the homeowner battled the blaze as best they could as they waited for crews to show up.

By the time crews got there, both the three-storey home and guest cabin had burnt to the ground.

Curtis says there are sprinklers set up around most of the cabins in the Fort Reliance area and she "believes there were" sprinklers set up around the home that burnt down.

Crews continue to fight the fire in the area, which covers 31,000 hectares.